The present invention relates to an electrical antenna assembly, and also to an electrical device including such an antenna assembly. The invention is particularly useful with respect to the retractable-type antenna assembly described in our U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,687, and is therefore described below with respect to this application.
Our prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,687 discloses an electrical antenna assembly particularly useful in a CT2 cordless telephone, including a rod antenna and a coil antenna carried by one end of the rod antenna. The whole antenna assembly is movable within a housing to either a retracted position within the housing wherein substantially only the coil antenna is disposed externally of the housing, or to an extended position wherein substantially the complete rod antenna and coil antenna are disposed externally of the housing. Both the rod antenna and coil antenna are pretuned to the same frequency, the arrangement being such that in the retracted position of the antenna assembly the coil antenna is enabled for use in short range operation, and in the extended position of the antenna assembly the rod antenna is enabled for use in long range operation. In the preferred embodiment described in that patent, the coil antenna and the rod antenna are both of quarter wavelength.